HELENA — The Montana House on Thursday endorsed what would be the state’s first fuel tax hike in 24 years to raise money to fix a backlog of roads and bridges across the state that have fallen into disrepair .
The bill by Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, would raise the state’s tax on gas by 8 cents a gallon and on diesel by 7 ¼ cents a gallon. That would be about $5 more a month for a person who drives 15,000 miles a year, Garner said.
Garner said the hike is needed because the state is underfunding its infrastructure by nearly $1 billion, leading to a third of roads and 900 bridges needing repairs. That has contributed to Montana having a third-highest traffic fatality rate in the nation, Garner said, citing a report by the nonprofit transportation research group TRIP.
“It’s been 24 years since we did something,” Garner said. “It’s our mission. There isn’t somebody else coming around the corner to fix it.”
The measure passed its first vote 56-44, with 17 Republicans joining 39 Democrats in voting yes. Two Democrats and 42 Republicans voted no.
The bill must pass a final vote before it goes to the Senate.
The measure is the first proposed tax increase to make it to the House floor this session. Lawmakers in the Republican majority until now have stymied other measures to help close a budget shortfall by raising taxes on the wealthy, medical marijuana, alcohol and tobacco.
Opponents of Garner’s bill repeated Thursday it’s a bad idea to raise taxes and hurt their constituents who are going through tough economic times of their own.
“When you’re in a tough budget cycle, that’s when there’s opportunity to find efficiency in government,” said Rep. Carl Glimm, R-Kila. “That’s not when you come here and just jack up taxes.”
Glimm and Rep. Randy Brodehl, R-Kalispell, said budget writers are proposing their own highway funding solutions by making cuts to the Department of Transportation and by boosting the money going into the special revenue account that funds highway projects, without raising taxes.